


Chemicals Displaced

by micehell



Category: Stargate - All Series
Genre: Drama, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, maybe a hint of implied sexual violence, vaguely season 4 SGA
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-02-11
Updated: 2008-02-11
Packaged: 2017-11-12 03:23:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/486115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/micehell/pseuds/micehell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It had just been a simple recon mission.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chemicals Displaced

**Author's Note:**

> Title has no real meaning, besides that it's from a _Bush_ song. ;)

It had just been a simple recon mission. Both teams had been stretched to the limit for far too long, and everyone had thought it would be a good break for them to work together on something that wasn't life or death.

Sitting alone in the cell, waiting to be rescued, even though he hated that he needed it, Cam could only think that it hadn't been the best idea that they'd ever had. Stretching to relieve the cramping in his bruised back, he did wonder whose bad luck had triggered things this time, his or Sheppard's.

The mission had started out well enough. MX3-4Y9 was a pretty little planet, without much in the way of indigenous life except for an overabundance of flora and some fairly simple, yet friendly natives. SG-11 had already been here twice, and hadn't found much of interest besides some old ruins.

Teal'c's face, lip curled up in a snarl, was the first hint of trouble in paradise. He'd been grouped with McKay and Teyla, and his dislike of the former had threatened the whole not-life-or-death part of the mission. Cam had hastily put him with Vala and Ronon instead, which had earned him a small quirk of lips. In Teal'cLand that meant that Cam had done well indeed, and he'd been pleased to have averted a crisis so easily. Until he got a look at Daniel's face, anyway. But while Cam had been well aware of the kind of damage Daniel in revenge mode could do, it hadn't meant that he was going to spend a day with McKay just to keep from throwing Daniel to the lion, so to speak.

After only an hour spent with someone who didn't spend the entire time either complaining, or telling him to shut up when he got too enthusiastic about flying or sports, Cam decided it was well worth whatever price Daniel exacted. He loved his team, some of them way more than he should, but it was good to spend time around someone who shared his interests, and Sheppard just smiled lazily when he droned on too long, listening even while his eyes never stopped taking in their surroundings.

His stomach grumbled, and Cam guessed it had been about four hours since they'd arrived, about two hours since they'd last checked in. He wondered why Teal'c and the others hadn't come yet, and could only hope that their best chance of swift rescue hadn't been caught out the same way they had. He couldn't see Teal'c being taken easily, but then both he and Sheppard were pretty good at what they did, and yet they'd still made the mistake of trusting their intel.

They'd come across the ruin right after their second hourly check in. It had been large even with the damage that time had done, but there hadn't been much inside it, water and weather having eroded most of it away. The natives that flitted around the edges of the place, giving them polite nods, but keeping their distance, seemed to be caretakers of some sort, and the vines and flowers that spilled over so much of the rest of the planet hadn't been allowed to make inroads.

Everything was just as they'd been told it was, old and useless, and they'd been ready to leave when Sheppard had cocked his head, eyes going distant for a moment. His forehead had wrinkled as if with effort, and then a slab of stone had pushed out from the wall, a panel inset in it giving a brief pulse of light before it sputtered out.

And that was when everything had fallen apart. The natives had gone from peaceful and distant to violent and right at hand so quickly that they'd had little chance to defend themselves, only managing to take down a couple of them before they were both overwhelmed.

They'd been dragged to a hidden doorway, Sheppard's observation about natives and underground bunkers getting him slapped for his efforts as they were shoved down a long stairway. They'd come out onto an enormous room, facing a troop of men armed with guns. They were very basic guns, nothing at Earth's level of technology, but between them, and the electrical lighting and fans overhead, Cam knew that if they got out of there alive, he was going to have a talk with SG-11 about their definition of simple natives.

Sheppard had made another observation -- something about underground bunkers and Nazis this time -- which earned him another slap, but before Cam could take exception to that, or try any type of negotiation, a crystal was shoved up against his chest. He'd been a little afraid it was a weapon of some type, but nothing happened. At least not until the crystal was shoved up against Sheppard's chest and it started glowing brightly.

Cam barely had time to hear the collective gasp that went up before he was dragged away and thrown into his cell. Even knowing it was pointless, that he didn't have a chance against so many armed men, he hadn't been able to resist trying to get back to Sheppard, not wanting to be separated, afraid of what that gasp might mean for the other man, but all he'd gotten for his efforts was a beating that left him dazed and aching and alone in his cell.

He heard rumbling, thought for a moment that it was his stomach again, but then it grew louder, resolving into the sound of footsteps. The cell door flew open even while Cam was deciding on what he should do, but it wasn't the rescue he'd been hoping for. Two guards stared at him for a moment, maybe waiting for him to make their day, but Cam's eyes were fixed on Sheppard, hanging limp in their collective grasp, and he didn't make a move, waiting to see what they wanted.

The tableau was broken when they threw Sheppard into the cell, leaving Cam flailing to catch him before he hit the ground, but while Sheppard wasn't exactly a huge guy, he was still heavy enough that they both wound up on the floor there as the cell door clanged shut again.

The guards didn't say anything as they left, but Cam wasn't really paying attention anyway, too busy checking Sheppard over for damage to care. There were bruises on his face, but Cam figured those might have been from the slaps he'd seen earlier. The finger-shaped bruises on his wrists and arms, though, those were new, still red and raw, and there was a faint ring of them around Sheppard's neck as well.

Cam was lifting Sheppard's shirt up, continuing his inspection, when Sheppard flinched away from his touch, smacking at Cam's hands as he rolled away from him.

"Hey, hey, it's me. Mitchell. I was just checking to see if you were hurt."

He kept his voice soft, like he was talking to a spooked horse, not sure how coherent Sheppard was, but the eyes that focused on him were aware, recognition clear in them. "Sorry. It's just… reflex, you know."

Cam understands reflexive reactions, he had more than a few of his own, but the hint of skin he can see at Sheppard's waistline, with more finger-shaped bruises showing, made him wonder exactly what had caused the reaction. Waking up in a strange place, touch in general, or having someone pulling at his clothes? There wasn't really a subtle way to ask if their captors had just been just fucking with him or actually fucking him, though. Cam wasn't sure he should invade Sheppard's privacy that much anyway, but he'd always hated seeing someone hurting and not being able to help, so he couldn't help but try. "Did they.. are you… what I mean is were you…?"

Sheppard saved him trying to figure out the polite way of phrasing it, shaking his head no. "Just… tests."

It was vague enough, but Cam couldn't help but imagine what kind of tests would break through Sheppard's normal reserve that much. Cam could _see_ that Sheppard was upset, and it didn't figure that a couple of hours of being slapped around would do it, not with some of the things Cam had seen on his service record. But he'd noticed that Sheppard always kept some space around him, only his team, and mainly McKay at that, allowed all that near. The reflex might just be to that. "Don't like to be touched much, do you?"

Sheppard had backed himself against the wall, but had lost most of his defensive posture. He had a hand around his waist, as if cradling a hurt, but his color was good, so Cam thought it might just be more bruising. Still wouldn’t hurt if Teal'c showed up sooner rather than later, but Cam wasn't feeling desperate yet.

He didn't think that Sheppard was going to answer, and Cam was trying to figure out if he should start in with questions about what actually had happened, or if they should talk about getting out first, when Sheppard gave him a slightly bitter grin and said, "Not touch, really, not if I'm expecting it. If I know you. But… well, you would know how it was. Back in school, and when you first get in. All the locker room stuff. People who think your being polite is an open invitation to push the line."

There was emphasis on the _you would know_ , and Cam guessed it wasn't just that he was polite that had made people push the line with Sheppard. Cam knew it might sound conceited, but he was no slouch in the looks department. He'd had too many people come on to him not to have caught a clue. He'd definitely come up against one or two guys who'd pushed things a little too far, who took lack of interest as a tease, and he'd learned early to always be cautious in locker rooms and showers. But he'd also had the obvious muscle mass to keep the grabass to a minimum. Sheppard, with his pretty face and slimmer physique, had probably had to deal with it a lot more than Cam had.

Of course, with the training they'd both been given, touch without warning was going to be an issue anyway, and if you added less than friendly intent to that… well, it could make anyone a little gun shy.

Making sure that Sheppard could see him, he reached out a hand and patted him on the shoulder, just wanting to give a little good-touch comfort. But all of Sheppard's normal defenses were running thin, and Cam could see the reaction to the touch in Sheppard's eyes.

It was banked, pain and circumstance not really lending themselves to a romantic moment, but the desire was still clear. A match to the one that Cam had felt the first time he'd seen Sheppard. He'd thought then that Sheppard might swing his way a little, but there'd been the tests that needed to be run, and his own almost-relationship with Teal'c, and Cam hadn't pursued it beyond a couple of fantasy romps in the privacy of his own shower. Now, though, between the good time he'd had talking to him before everything went pear-shaped, and the sense of protectiveness the situation was bringing out in him, he couldn't help considering it again.

"Hey, you want… I mean not the time or place, right? But when we're back home, maybe…" Cam twirled his hand in a vague way, hoping that Sheppard picked up on this as easily as he had the other. Talking about things like this was always hard, like a bar pickup without the benefit of being drunk. He found himself rambling to fill in any potential awkward silence. "And it shouldn't be long until we're back home, 'cause while Teal'c might like to do Jaffa Smackdown on my ass from time to time, he takes extreme exception to anyone else doing it."

He'd at least got a smile out of Sheppard if not an immediate yes. Sheppard made his own vague gesture, like he was pointing between Cam and some imaginary guy sitting next to him. "You and Teal'c… you aren't…?"

Cam had no problems doing his own translating, and he smiled, if a little bitterly, letting his own defenses thin for a moment. "Not often. He doesn't… well, it's not what he wants out of life, let's just say."

Sheppard grimaced in sympathy, nodding his head. "Yeah, I know how that is."

And just the evening before, McKay had been going on and on about some woman he was dating. Sheppard had looked vaguely irritated, but Cam had chalked it up to his having heard it all before. He wondered now, though, if that was all it was. Sheppard got along with McKay far better than anyone else. Maybe he and Cam had more in common than Cam had suspected.

Which would be just sad for both of them, but no more than they deserved for getting involved with people who didn't really want them. Not enough, anyway.

They'd probably do well together, both of them a little wary after the shit they'd lived through, but he'd recognized his own cockeyed optimism in Sheppard, the thing that kept them going when the shit was actually happening. Not that it mattered all that much, not really. Because one of them lived on Earth, and the other on Atlantis, and neither one of them was going to willingly give up the posts that they loved. Whatever they might share, it wasn't going to be about lifetimes. But it could definitely be about comfort. About a touch that you didn't have to avoid.

Before he could get a more definite answer from Sheppard, he heard the grumbling again, knew the guards were coming. Sheppard looked at him calmly, the walls back in place, and shook his head when Cam got up in a crouch. "Don't do anything stupid."

But Cam couldn't just let them take him, anymore than he'd been able to not try to help before. "Hey, Stupid's my middle name."

Sheppard had laughed at that, a genuine spot of light in the gloom of the cell, but it had died quickly enough when the guards came in, weapons ready, and all their resistance earned them was they were both unconscious when they took Sheppard away.

He woke to the sound of Teal'c's voice and the soft beep of infirmary monitors. He'd been there often enough that it didn't confuse him, but it took him a moment to remember why he was there. He opened his eyes to see Teal'c leaning over him, looking concerned. And even though he knew better, knew that the concern didn't go deep enough for what he needed, Cam couldn't help but smile up at him, always happy to see him even if it was a bittersweet thing. "Great to see you, big guy."

It got him a raised eyebrow and a wry, "Indeed," and if Cam just knew that Sheppard was okay, all would be right with his world.

Teal'c knew the way his mind worked, though, and he answered the unspoken concern without being asked. "Colonel Sheppard is well enough. He is still in the treatment room, but it was mostly bruises."

Cam was up by the time they brought Sheppard in. Teal'c shadowed him as he made his way over to the bed, but Cam was steady enough on his feet that he knew he could go home. He looked at Sheppard's sleeping face for a moment, wondering if he should stay. But he was tired, and he didn't even know if Sheppard would want him there, his own team out in the hallway waiting to visit.

Teal'c was still watching him, and Cam knew it would only take a nod, and he'd have company for the night, that bit of comfort he'd been thinking of back in the cell. Teal'c always liked to have concrete proof he was fine after missions that went bad, but Cam couldn't handle it tonight. Too much like what he wanted, but not close enough.

He was sleeping when he heard the knock on the door. He cautiously opened it, but it was just Sheppard on the other side, smiling happily as he looked around Cam's apartment, nothing to suggest that he was aware that was far too early in the morning, or that there was anything odd in his being there. All his masks were clearly back in place.

"What are you doing here at two o'clock in the morning? Shouldn't you still be in the infirmary?"

Which actually made the façade slip a little, and Sheppard's smile turned uncertain. "You said… never mind. I must have misunderstood."

Cam grabbed him before he could leave. "No, I did say. I still do, but they just released you from the infirmary… and, hell, they didn't even release you, did they? Not at this time of night."

Now that he knew he wasn't being turned away, Sheppard's smile was back, edging towards patently fake innocence as he said, "They didn't stop me from going."

"Did they even see you leave? At this time of the morning, I'm doubting there were that many people around."

Sheppard shrugged, an old hand at getting around regulations. "If I had no orders to the contrary, then I was free to go, wasn't I?"

Cam knew how to get around the rules, of course, but he'd never been that comfortable with doing it. Even DADT was a rule he kept a strict eye on. He had a sneaking admiration for Sheppard's audacity, though.

Most of the men Cam had been with were quick hookups. No kissing, barely any looking. Just hand on dick, mouth on dick, dick up ass, whatever worked. Only with Teal'c had he ever kissed a guy before, and then only rarely.

Sheppard kissed like it was the main course, taking his time. Lips, tongue, teeth, everything came into play. And for someone who was hesitant about being touched, he was more than willing to do it. His hands were warm and firm as they mapped out Cam, learning his planes.

Cam led him back to the bedroom, laughing into Sheppard's mouth when they bumped into walls, when they fell across the bed, not even wanting to come up for air. He wanted to feel Sheppard everywhere, to take his time, and try everything he could think of, but had never dared asked Teal'c for.

But it was two in the morning, and they were both bruised and tired, and right at the edge of endurance. Their breath grew faster, the touches more desperate, and Sheppard pulled Cam on top of him, bucking up against him. "You got anything to make this easier?"

That made Cam pull back a little. In the cell, Sheppard had said that he hadn't been touched in a sexual way, but it had been obvious that he'd felt unsettled by it all the same. And penetration had always left Cam feeling a little vulnerable at the best of times. "You sure? I mean, there's lots-"

But John kissed the words away. "Want you," was all he replied, legs spreading to bring Cam closer.

He tried to take it easy, fingers slick and slow as they opened John up, but John was calling the shots, no matter what position he was in, and soft and slow gave way to "Right there, yeah," and "Move, damn it." And unlike John, Cam knew how to follow orders.

It felt good, John warm and tight around him, and responsive as hell, finding Cam's rhythm quickly, moving in counterpoint to it. John braced his hands against the headboard to keep his head from knocking into it, meeting Cam's thrusts with equal force, so that the smack of flesh on flesh was drowning out the little whimper that Cam couldn't help but make. There was no way he could last long like that. It felt too good, it had been too long, and John's face was open again, showing his own pleasure in the act.

Cam tried to hold on until John came, but he couldn't, his orgasm scouring through him like a storm. He had just enough sense left to palm John's dick hard, and he felt the liquid against his hand that let him know he'd hadn't left his partner unsatisfied before sleep took over.

The bed was empty when he woke up, but there was coffee made and a note on the pot. _I figured I'd get back to the infirmary before I wound up having to explain that whole lack of orders thing again. See you later._

Cam laughed, reading what was in the note, and what wasn't. Whatever they had might not be about lifetimes, but it was about comfort and friendship and being around someone you didn't have to explain things to, and that was its own pleasure.

Finishing off his coffee, he found himself thinking about his day. He knew that even with the shower, that Teal'c would still flare his nostrils when he got around Cam, and give him that slightly disapproving look. He knew that sometime today Daniel would do something fairly hideous to him. And he knew that sometime today he was going to be with Sheppard again.

Even knowing he was tempting either his bad luck or Sheppard's, Cam couldn't help the big grin that split his face, looking forward to his day.

/story


End file.
